


feel like glitter

by lovesickjily



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Glitter, Jily Challenge, Meet-Cute, Music Festival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 11:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20470196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovesickjily/pseuds/lovesickjily
Summary: "you have horrible taste in festival snacks, the clear winner is a pot of pringles and all you've got is some crappy cereal bars in here"jily music festival au





	feel like glitter

**Author's Note:**

> for @jilychallenge on tumblr!

If James Potter had a dollar for every time someone offered him drugs, he swore he’d have twice the money in his bank account.

That should have been a given because _ hello? _Music festival? Home to Instagram influencers and modern-day hippies alike? James shouldn’t have been surprised at the turn out.

Still, he didn’t think it would have been _ that _bad.

Sure, the music was decent enough, but no one had warned him of strangers after strangers offering him their equally strange drugs. No one had warned him that once the sun went down, he’d see dark silhouettes hunched over bushes and smell what could have only been natural body waste.

And least of all, no one warned him that once he returned to his tent, he’d be greeted by a stranger sprawled out amidst the snacks that Sirius had been so insistent on bringing. A _ pretty _stranger, no less.

She might have _ looked _ like the other girls who James had passed up— glitter decorating her cheeks like they were a cake and sprinkled atop her hair like snow stuck to a person’s clothes— but something about her set her apart from everyone else. It _ could _ have been her silky red hair, or those sparkling green eyes, but whatever it was, all James knew was that she was gorgeous. Supermodel— _ more _than a supermodel— gorgeous. 

“Is this your tent?” she asked, her mouth full of what James could only assume to be Sirius’s snacks. No hi, or hello, no _ greeting. _ Hell, not even an apology for trespassing on _ his _ property— nevermind the fact that the turf that the festival was on technically didn’t belong to him— and yet that, in combination with the crumbs decorating the perimeter of her lips, _ still _made her look pretty.

He leaned against the pole holding up the tent, ignoring the smell of the unholy combination of drugs and alcohol wafting from the tents besides his, and cocked an eyebrow at her. “Is this _ yours?” _

“Obviously not. I’ve actually got some taste buds.”

“And I don’t?”

She sat up, sticking her hands out to steady herself, and it was apparent that the readily-supplied stock of alcohol at the festival had gotten to her. "You have horrible taste in festival snacks, the clear winner is a pot of pringles, and all you've got are some crappy cereal bars in here.”

Right. Of _ course. _ Out of all the people that could have raided his and Sirius’s tent, it _ had _ to be someone critical of the poor, innocent snacks sitting in a messy heap on the floor. Even if he agreed that the snacks _ weren’t _the best.

“Would you believe me if I said that I wasn’t in charge of the snacks?”

She hummed, pondering his wonders for a moment. “That _ would _be a relief. Otherwise I would have questioned what evil entity in their right mind would give someone so fit a horrible taste in junk food.”

At his age, he shouldn’t have been so affected by someone complimenting his appearances, unable to help the light smirk forming on his face. “Think that horrible entity does exist.” He nodded towards the pile of her empty wrappers. “You practically ate all the snacks we packed.”

“The food here is horribly overpriced, and if not that, it’s swarming with flies.” She grimaced, plucking another Pringle from the box and shoving it into her mouth. “I’m terribly hungry, so do you really blame me?”

“Fair enough,” James said, and he decided that there was no harm in letting himself into the tent. It _ was _his tent after all. “Move over.”

She complied, her hand still gripping the box of Pringles. With eyes greener than the fields and constellations of mascara dotting her cheeks, she suspiciously peered up at him. “What’s your name? Oh!” She clapped her hands together. “Don’t tell me. You look like… a Harry.”

“A Harry?” James asked, amused by the drunken rambles of an equally drunk girl. He leaned back, letting his body rock the chair with his weight. “My grandpa was named Henry, but no. It’s James. Potter.”

“James,” she echoed, and he liked the way the words fell from her lips. “I guessed a Prince name, so I suppose I wasn’t _ too _far off.”

“You think I’m a prince?”

“Well, are you? Otherwise, I think I’ll have to leave a message for the Queen and tell her that I’ve found her long-lost son.”

“Tell her I’ve run away for good. Avoiding responsibilities and all that.”

“Obviously you aren’t here to court noble women.”

“Maybe I am,” James said, flashing her a slight cocky grin, and he bowed, outrageously curtsying her. “My lady.”

She laughed. “You’re bold, courting me when you don’t know my name.”

“‘Course I do. The name gods have told me that it’s…” He looked at her for help.

“Lily,” she finished.

“Lily,” he repeated, liking the sound of it rolling off his lips. “You a flower, then?”

She sighed, leaning back. “Maybe. I’ve got a sister named Petunia if that helps my case.”

James shrugged. “Depends on if you want to be a flower or not.”

“What _ I _ want right now,” she started, flopping her head back onto one of the pillows littering the tent floor and holding up the now-empty can of Pringles. “Are better snacks.”

“I reckon if you raid one of the other gazillion tents, you’ll be able to get that.”

“That, unfortunately, means I’d have to get up.” She buried her head further into the pillow as if to prove her point. “Is this yours?”

“I mean, it _ is _my tent.”

“That’s the wrong answer. It’s _ mine _now.”

James smiled, no doubt amused even more than he would have been had he chosen to stay out to listen to Sirius’s horrible interpretations of the EDM beats that were currently blaring throughout the air. “Take good care of it, yeah? It’s my most prized possession.”

“Is it really?”

“Nah,” he replied, shaking his head. “There was a pack of pillows on sale at the store the other day.”

She laughed. “You’re supposed to be wooing me here.”

“Thought I was. You’re not into thrifty blokes? Thought you’d be the type, seeing as we’re at a music festival and all.”

“And yet we’re not participating. Why is that so?”

“Because I found you raiding my tent and eating all the snacks?” James replied, and she let out a huff, weakly and terribly chucking a pillow that sent his athletic side into tears. “Couldn’t help but get sideswept.”

She sat up. “What do you say we get out there, then?”

He grinned. “Lead the way.”

* * *

In theory, it shouldn’t have been so hard to lead someone around, to take them by their hand and show them the way.

In reality, it was the exact opposite— _ so _bloody hard. Because even if said someone was the prettiest girl that James had ever seen in his life, it was really hard to maneuver the two of them around throngs of people who were all out of it. Thank the bloody drugs.

As they got closer and closer to the main stage, James careful to step over what he hoped could have only been throw up and not something else, the music grew louder and louder. And, apparently, Lily’s excitement grew as well. 

“I love this song!” she exclaimed over the music, moving her body to the beat.

“Yeah? You a fan?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never heard of them in my life, but you can’t deny how good they are!”

Lily swayed to the beat, grabbing his hands to make him move along to the rhythm. If he was being honest, he didn’t think he’d find himself in the company of another person who _ wasn’t _ Sirius— not tonight, at least. Perhaps it was the alcohol from earlier that day, or maybe it was the adrenaline that came with the thrill of being one among an entire crowd of people jumping and dancing and throwing their hearts— and stomach’s contents, to the slight disgust of James— out, but James didn’t think he felt so _ alive. _

WIth everyone singing along to the song, James couldn’t help but to join in, screaming along with them and watching Lily jump around. And it wasn’t planned. It just sort of… happened.

Even surrounded by people, it still somehow felt like just the two of them, and he kissed her. Spontaneously. Hands looping around her waist and pulling her to his chest, James pressed his lips around hers, slowly and tentatively, before it escalated into something a little more.

Her lips tasted salty— perhaps from the Pringles that she’d eaten— but he didn’t mind a bit, determined to deepen the kiss. The action seemed to elevate every one of his senses, pounding at his ears even harder as the music seemed to grow louder.

And when they— he didn’t even know who had done it first— pulled away, he didn’t think he was letting her go anytime soon.

* * *

The bright, sudden sun jolted James awake.

“Rise and fucking shine,” Sirius announced, walking in through the flap of the tent and making a beeline towards the cooler. 

James groaned. “Fuck off.”

“I was about to, actually. It reeks of a potential relationship in here,” Sirius said with a grimace, and satisfied with the water bottle in his hand, he turned back around. “We’re leaving in ten.”

And then it was James and Lily alone once again.

Lily shifted besides James, having spent the night in the tent with him, and to keep Sirius away, she promised that she’d pay him back for all his snacks that she’d eaten. She rolled over, snuggling herself into the crook of his neck. “Good morning. Did you get a good night’s sleep?”

“As good that sleep could be with the bloody mosquitoes flying around. Swear I had to swat off at least a dozen for my lady.”

“And who _ is _your lady?”

WIth her tucked against his person, it was obvious who _ that _title belonged to. “Am I being too presumptuous?”

“No,” she hummed. “But I’ve got a massive headache right now, and I don’t think the flutters in my stomach are helping any matters.”

“Ah. That’s my bad. Is there anything that I can do to help?”

“Well…” she started, looking over at him with a light glint in her eyes. “There _ is _something.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“And would that involve maybe seeing you again?”

“Only if you get better snacks next time,” she said, and James let out a chuckle, letting his hand fly down to hers and giving it a slight squeeze.

“Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> please leave comments/kudos if you enjoyed <3


End file.
